Talking Heads
Speaking in Tongues
Sire 1983
Robert Rauschenberg designed limited edition cover
front cover
cover open - with clear vinyl record
inside cover detail
rear cover
Review
Talking Heads, the "ultimate art rock" band produces an album with the "ultimate art rock" cover.
Robert Rauschenberg was a major figure in the art world from the early sixties on. Primarily grouped with the "Pop" art movement his work usually defied categories and description. David Byrne approached him after viewing one of his New York shows to do a cover for this album. Rauschenberg, never being conventional, decided to "re-invent" the concept of an album cover.
This cover is larger than typical cover size and consists of a plastic clamshell cover with three movable printed plastic discs. Supposedly the colored discs can be aligned to produce a full color image but I have never been able to do it. It is said that 50,000 copies of this cover were produced.
Music: The Talking Heads crank out the funk on this one with great tracks like "Burning Down The House", "Swamp", "Slippery People" and "This Must Be The Place". A strong album all the way through.
Note: The album clamshell was originally clear
but, with time, has turned a shade of brown.